The Strangest Third Kits in Premier League History - Ranked

Third kits are one of the grey areas of the football world.

On one hand, they go against everything beautiful and pure about the game and are a direct consequence of money dictating the sport; nobody needs three kits for one season, but this is now a convention.

On the other hand third kits can be great fun, with manufacturers producing some memorable efforts in recent years - most notably Nike's efforts last season for the likes of Barcelona, Chelsea and Inter. It gives clubs the chance to try on something a little left-field, be it harking back to an older design, or trying something completely new.

Sometimes, however, it goes a bit too left-field.

Here's a list of some of the weirdest third kits that have cropped up in the history of the Premier League...

1. Manchester City 2016/17

There was clearly something in the air during the 2016/17 season.

City went bold with their third kit colours, opting for a strange fade between orange and purple. It's by no means a bad shirt, but choosing to put those two colours together is an interesting decision.

2. Arsenal 2015/16

Monochrome badges are almost always a no go, but that's just one of many issues with this Arsenal third kit.

The Gunners went for an entirely new approach in the 2015/16 season, but ending up looking like a Newcastle junior team for their efforts.

There's just nothing particularly 'Arsenal' about it, and it feels like they couldn't decide on which specific design to go for.

3. Manchester City 2020/21

Collars on football shirts are Marmite; some will love it, others will hate it.

West Ham's third kit for the 2016/17 campaign was an attempt to go classic, and while they definitely achieved it, it looked a bit odd. It's an effort your dad would love, but also looks like it could be found on the sale rack in Topman.

6. Manchester United 2017/18

How can you stop fans of a club endlessly harassing your social media team because of a bad kit design? Let them design it instead.

For the 2017/18 campaign, adidas allowed Manchester United fans to submit designs on their website and the one with most votes would end up as the club's third kit.

After removing shenanigans in the form of Chris Smalling's face taking up the entire shirt, the Red Devils were left with a grey kit that had Old Trafford at the bottom of it.

It wasn't a bad idea, but it looked unfinished in the bland grey colourway, as though adidas had banned fans from using the colouring in pens for being naughty when submitting designs.

7. Liverpool 2016/17

Liverpool aren't out of the woods yet with weird kits, and nor is the 2016/17 season.

New Balance decked the Reds out in a Chelsea-inspired neon green third kit that season. The grey accents along the top definitely break up the highlighter feel, but also made it look like the squad was on call to resurface the M1 if needed.

8. Chelsea 2020/21

It hasn't always been plain sailing on the kit front for Liverpool in recent times.

Their third kit for the 2013/14 campaign better resembled the upholstery on an old bus seat from the 70s rather than a football kit.

11. Manchester United 2020/21